In a case which will strike fear into the hearts of manufacturers and creators of novel products, leading designer Rob Law suffered a crushing blow when the Court of Appeal exposed his phenomenally successful Trunki ride-on children’s suitcase to a deluge of competition from a discounted rival. The Dragon’s Den competitor fought to make the Trunki a...

In a classic example of an incident that lasted just seconds giving rise to international litigation on a grand scale, a mishap in which an 87-tonne wind turbine fell off a lorry and embedded itself in an Irish peat bog gave rise to two sets of proceedings in England and another in Denmark. A Danish company had engaged an English firm which specialised in...

In a dramatic example of European free trade laws being put into practical effect, a local authority is facing a £1.5 million damages claim after taking the ‘moral and political’ – but hasty and legally unwise – decision to close the Port of Ramsgate to live animal exports. Noting that even activities that are deeply unpopular with sections of...

A woman who says that she has been plagued for years by anti-social behaviour and noise emanating from a basketball court next to her home has failed to convince the High Court that it was irrational of planners to allow the facility’s use at all hours of the day and night. The court had a lengthy planning history and, on a number of previous occasions, the...

Litigants will have noted the recent toughening of the judicial approach to compliance with directions and case management orders. However, a High Court decision has underlined that a slavish deference to deadlines can itself cause delay and harm the interests of justice. The owners and managers of a vessel had claimed $500,000 from marine insurers in respect of...